Lie detectors begin to go mainstream

The widespread use of lie-detection technology is approaching and the chances are the first you’ll encounter it will be at an airport. While the fabled polygraph remains in use today, it is nowhere near as accurate as modern voice analysis techniques which are so accurate they are now being used in anti-terrorism and law enforcement, reporting on the veracity of verbal statements with an accuracy of better than 95%. The Israeli-developed technology is also being used for insurance and workers compensation claim assessment and is available as a downloadable PC program which can analyse live and recorded telephone conversations. Now the Domodedovo International Airport is introducing Multilevel Voice Analysis Technology to process passengers – the test asks passengers four questions, analyses psychological and emotional voice characteristics and makes a decision to channel them through the green or red corridors. It processes a person a minute and has already identified a number of “persons of operational interest”. The GK-1system will be used on security queues at the airport, at the customs control and border control to detect and prevent terrorist attacks, the smuggling of weapons, ammunition, explosives and poison gas. There’s even a portable unit which uses a portable computer and a heads-up display. Last but not least, there’s a version for analysing telephone conversations and specialty analysis tools for working out whether your prospect is in fact in love, and whether your spouse, is in fact telling the truth. Reader reports on the usefulness of this tools are invited.

We’ve written about lie detection technologies before, including the novel lie-detector glasses which remains one of our most popular stories. The polygraph remains in use today, but is nowhere near as accurate as modern voice analysis techniques which have been developed over the last 30 years mainly to improve methods of investigation. In it's infancy, the goal of voice stress analysis was to develop a non-invasive, flexible "lie-detector" that could produce results comparable to that of the poly-graph. Voice stress analysis machines were the product of this early research. Unfortunately, the results of these initial efforts did not advance to the level of polygraph techniques.

Accuracy rates of voice stress analysis, while better than 50%, were not reaching the 70%-80% range that a polygraph can produce. LVA, one of the applications which uses the technology, uses up to 8,000 mathematical algorithms to determine if a person is telling the truth.

LVA tracks and analyses the mechanics of vocal patterns to identify emotional states such as excitement, stress, uncertainty and deception. The software can run on variety of computer systems, including laptops for portable use wherever security is a concern.

While the traditional polygraph is based on subjective analysis and uses physiological responses to determine if a person is telling the truth, LVA employs objective means and uses psychological responses. 'LVA far surpasses existing voice stress analysis technology by identifying the "why" behind a response,' said Richard Parton, CEO of V.

'It's not what you say, but how you say it. This is crucial, for example, in an airport setting where factors such as fear of flying, or concern about missing a plane may result in high stress levels without any improper intent.'

LVA is the main investigative focus tool designed for law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, and armed forces professionals. This product operates in online, offline, and interrogation modes so users can focus their investigations sooner and don't waste time or resources chasing the wrong leads or the wrong suspect.

Online mode works spontaneously'without a predefined script, purpose, or pre-planned questions. The feedback indicates the cause of each 'problem' response'stress, excitement, confusion, inaccuracy, etc.'enabling investigators to tailor questions and follow leads as they develop.

Offline mode gives investigators a more efficient, accurate way to analyze pre-recorded (.wav) files, conversations, interviews or interrogations. Offline uses more vocal patterns to provide a much deeper analysis. LVA then generates a complete profile and report summarizing the overall emotional behaviour of the subject during the session.

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